


Hallow's Curse

by HoorayImUseful



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: F/F, spoopy crack!fic, this is shameless trash and i'm not apologising for it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 09:46:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21195635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoorayImUseful/pseuds/HoorayImUseful
Summary: Things go awry at a spooky time of year, and the gang have until sunrise to solve the curse that a pesky pink-haired mischief maker bestowed upon them for kicks.





	Hallow's Curse

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEN. I actually wrote this for halloween last year but then completely super forgot to post it. Have some crack fic shamelessly based on that one Buffy episode, and if you have no idea what I'm talking about then uhhh this was a completely original idea with no external influences whatsoever. High quality render to go along with this fic that was released early over on my [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/hoorayimuseful). Beyond that, may your goth-christmas be spectacularly spoopy. Come join us for fun and frivolity on the [Fangrai FF Server](https://discord.gg/pxy9Mjx) on Discord.

Fang opened the door and didn't know whether to be amazed or horrified. She opted for stunned silence as she took in the lithe form of the pink-haired woman standing with a defensive posture on the front porch. Lightning on the other hand didn't know whether to be mad or... just mad. She settled for a sour consternation as she folded her arms across her bare midriff.

"Well hello there, _officer _Farron. No greeting? Cat got your tongue?" Fang jeered, playfully batting at the cat eats sticking out of the top of Lightning's head. Her incredibly revealing outfit appeared to be in the spirit of the festivities and the lieutenant wasn't having a bar of it. "Vanille sure as hell doesn't pull punches when you lose a bet to her, does she?"

"You would know more than most, _Fang_." Lightning seethed, eyeballing the Pulsian's deliberate mockery of a guardian corps uniform. The familiar jacket was all Fang had on, letting ample cleavage and midriff show. It was certainly distracting, and Lightning couldn't tell if it was because it intrigued or exasperated her. "I swear you wore that on purpose to spite me." Fang wrapped an arm around her exposed shoulder and led her inside to put her things down, chuckling all the while.

"Well you ain't wrong, gorgeous. But at least 'Nille has some good taste in costume selections."

"_Debatable._" Lightning retorted, already preparing to leave. Fang sighed and pushed a beer into her hand in the hope it would loosen the tense features in front of her.

"Maybe it's just good to see you out of your element. It's a good thing, Light. You'll get to experience new things this way. You might even like them."

Lightning narrowed her eyes and gave Fang an appropriate hiss, given the terrible sexy kitten outfit Vanille had stuck her in for the evening. It had to have been a setup. The redhead goading her into a test of wills because Vanille had made the comment that Lightning was completely incapable of sitting still, of leaving the other guardian corps squads alone.

"_They'll never learn to be independent and fend for themselves here if you just keep stepping in, Light. They can handle it. Tell you what. If you can go one entire day without interfering and stepping in with the other squads, I'll clean your house top to bottom for a month."_

"_And if I don't?"_

All Lightning could remember was Vanille's cruel smile and she sighed, leaning against the counter while feeling very exposed. She spied Snow wander in wearing a ridiculous dog costume the same colour as his hair. He gave her a lazy wave and Lightning felt herself bristle more than usual.

"Well isn't that just precious?" Fang cooed, wandering over and ruffling Snow's hair. She laughed as his tongue lolled out of his mouth and she nodded towards Lightning. "Least you're getting into it more than she is."

Serah entered the kitchen in a basic doctor's attire and gave her sister a once over. She adjusted the stethoscope around her neck and her eyebrows raised. "Jeez Claire, I know Vanille said you lost a bet but... wow."

Lightning narrowed her eyes and glared, but the ears on the top of her head drooped, causing everyone in the room to gasp. "Etro's Gate Light, that was adorable… How'd you do that?" Fang asked, pushing Snow away from her when he seemed to demand more pats.

"Do what?" The pinkette replied, an eyebrow raising curiously. The ears swivelled up and twitched, and Fang could barely contain herself.

"That! That thing with the ears!" Fang pointed and moved forward to touch them. Lightning moved away from her, growling low in her throat.

"You keep your hands to yourself you fiend."

Serah rolled her eyes and took a drink for herself from the fridge. "Of course Claire is a cat. If my husband is a dog it makes perfect sense seeing as they're always fighting."

Adjusting the fake handcuffs attached to her belt, Fang gave her a knowing nod. "Well as long as you keep him on a leash when out and about Serah. I don't want to have to write you up for a two seven three violation."

While Serah laughed and led her husband from the room by the hand, Lightning could only stare. "How in the hell could you possibly know what a two seven three code even means, let alone apply it in an appropriate context?" she sighed, knowing Fang must have done her homework to piss her off. "Why did I agree to this stupid bet?"

Fang walked back over to Lightning's side and gave her a gentle nudge. "Don't be sour about it, darlin'. Everything 'Nille does, she does for a reason. You ever stop to think that maybe she's trying to get you to stop so that the others squads will learn to depend on each other rather than you?" She chastised lightly, marvelling at the way the feline ears drooped despite Lightning's face remaining impassive. "We had this bloke back in our village that was like you. Always getting involved with the other hunting parties. It was quicker and more efficient for him to step in. The other parties began to get complacent because they knew he'd always show up and get them out of trouble. Until one day they bit off more than they could chew and their usual saviour was nowhere to be found. They let their guard down and paid the price."

Lightning listened to the story feeling more and more perpetually guilty. Both Pulsians had a point. And if she had to wear a ridiculous costume to get it through her head and learn a lesson then so be it. She gave a subtle glance at Fang's outfit and realised that she was in just as much revealing wear as well. It... Wasn't bad. Really. Not at all.

"It's just as much about you looking after yourself too, Claire." Serah interjected as she re-entered the kitchen to grab a bowl of snacks for the party. "Your blood pressure is going to go through the roof if you keep working yourself to the bone like this."

Rolling her eyes, Lightning took a long drink from her bottle and licked her lips. "Thank you _doctor_ Farron." She drawled with a smile. Fang watched the path the pinkette took with her tongue and swallowed. It wasn't helping Fang at _all _that Lightning was wearing such a revealing outfit, given that her attraction to the grumpy pinkette had been slowly climbing over the months since waking from crystal. But then her eyes trailed down to the twitching tail and her eyebrows rose.

"Light... Are you... Annoyed?" Fang asked carefully. Cerulean eyes snapped to her and Lightning gave a warm smile.

"I'm fine, Fang. Why would you think I was otherwise?" _Twitch._ There it was again. It reminded Fang of a gorgonopsid that was about to strike its prey. _Twitch. Twitch._ _Twitch._ "Let's go and get this night over with so I can get out of this ridiculous costume.

Fang followed Lightning from the kitchen, unsure of whether to keep her eyes on the pinkette's rear, or the tail that appeared to be swishing about of its own accord. There was something weird going on tonight.

Lightning surveyed the party from her lazy spot on the couch in the corner, feeling beyond anti-social. She lazily spied the various costumes everyone wire and rolled her eyes. Gadot was dressed up as a werewolf, Lebreau as a sexy pirate, Maqui as a zombie and Yuj as a well-dressed vampire. Sazh had arrived as the grim reaper, and Hope was milling about somewhere as a ghost but who knows where he had vanished to in the last hour.

The crowds all milled about, but Lightning found her eyes always travelling back to Fang. They made eye contact and Lightning immediately looked away, not wanting to draw any further attention to herself. She felt silly in this outfit, and she didn't like feeling that way around the Pulsian given she already had enough conflicting feelings around her.

Fang watched the ears on the top of Lightning's head droop and it made her feel sad. Something was obviously bothering the pinkette and the ears and tail seemed to be giving it away. Such a strange costume that the cat appendages seemed to act as mood indicators. She nudged Vanille with her elbow to get her attention. "Two questions, why the hell aren't you in a costume and secondly, where the hell did you get Light's get up from? The ears move on their own, it's uncanny."

Vanille sighed, sipping her drink through a straw. "I didn't have time to get changed before I finished work and had to haul butt to get over here on time. And secondly, what are you talking about? It's just a headband. Hey have you seen Hope?"

"Hm nah I haven't seen him for a bit. Maybe he really is a ghost?" Fang said with a shrug, moving through the party to get to the troubled looking pinkette. Maqui caught her eye as she was walking past, and she immediately sprung into action, tackling Gadot to the ground. The fire-haired NORA member growled at the rough treatment while everyone rushed over.

"Giving alcohol to a minor is an arrestable offence, Gadot. What's wrong with you?" Fang snapped, handcuffing his arms behind his back. He whined at the treatment and struggled in the bonds.

"Come on, Fang it's a party! In the safety of Serah and Snow's home! Lighten up! You're not a real cop, jeez..." Gadot complained while Fang hauled him to his feet. Lightning wandered over and had an amused look on her face was she watched the scene.

"Well she isn't a _real_ cop, but I _am, _and she's actually right, Gadot." Lightning drawled her tail lightly brushing the back of Fang's legs. The Pulsian jumped and glared at the offending appendage, narrowing her eyes.

"Seriously how are you _doing that_?" She demanded, watching as the tail curled lightly around her leg. Lightning's eyes widened and she glanced down, realising she could _feel _thetail_._

"I... I don't know... Vanille, where the hell did you get this costume?"

Vanille shrugged and took a couple of safe steps away to keep out of arms reach. It put her in direct contact with Snow, who made a strange sound and licked her face. He looked embarrassed and reeled backwards, giving an apologetic glance towards Serah. "I. UH. I am so sorry I don't know what... Came over me... Ser? What's going on?"

While Serah moved over to Snow and pulled him away from everyone, Vanille checked her receipts and frowned, handing them over to Fang. "It was some new shop that had opened up, we all got our costumes from there. Down on the pier across the other side of town. Illuminate? I think it was called?"

Serah was busy lecturing Snow in the corner about his alcoholic intake while Fang wondered if Lightning had any spare handcuffs to arrest him for indecent assault. Lightning was wondering the same thing. Fang looked over the receipt and frowned. It was the same place she had gotten her costume from. The same place Serah and Snow had gotten their costumes from when they went with her.

_Uh oh._

"Serah? If someone's having a severe allergic reaction, what's the go?" Fang asked, all eyes in the room turning towards Serah. The younger Farron whipped her head around and adjusted her glasses.

"Depends, if it's anaphylaxis generally epinephrine can be administered in controlled doses of... uh... How do I know this?"

Fang swallowed hard and looked back towards Lightning, her necklace swaying with her movements. She watched as the cerulean eyes went almost black as they dilated from the sudden movement, the pinkette's focus honed in on the necklace against Fang's chest with exact precision. "I think we have a problem. I think these costumes aren't actually costumes."

"That's ridiculous, Fang." Vanille sighed, not particularly in the mood for her sister's pranks.

"I'm serious! Has anyone even seen Hope in the last hour? He was dressed as a ghost and now he's gone. Hope, if you can hear me, can you... I dunno, do something? Anything? Haunt some shit already."

Vanille was about to chastise her sister for being creepy when she saw the nearby window fog up and the word "FINALLY." Appear slowly upon it. Serah frowned and marched over to her own sibling, walking behind her and yanking the tail hard. The howl that ripped from Lightning's throat was impressively angry, and like her namesake, she suddenly shot off down the hallway at breakneck speed.

"Huh. I think Fang's right." Serah simply stated, adjusting her stethoscope around her neck. When she went remove the coat however, it zapped her. "Ow! Can anyone else who bought a costume from that Illuminate store take theirs off?"

One by one everyone tried, and all received similar zaps. Fang glanced off in the direction of the dark hallway and frowned. "We're gonna have to go down there. All of us. Before... Shit gets any weirder. Serah, round the others up, it's pretty much you, me and Vanille that are going to be the... Most stable here, and even that is debatable at this point."

They nodded and began to collect everyone, while Fang left to find where her friend could possibly escape to. She checked all the rooms and found no sign of her, only to hear a low growl coming from underneath the bed in the spare room.

"Uh, Light? You in here?"

The growl intensified in volume, and Fang slowly got down on all fours to peek under the sheet that hung off the edge of the bed. Sure enough, Lightning was hidden underneath, her body curled in and her tail wrapped protectively against her. Fang had to push away the thoughts about how adorable she looked to try to focus on the matter at hand.

"Hey, there you are. Listen I think there's... a bit of a problem with these costumes and they're screwing with our heads. We've gotta get to the place we all bought them from to try to fix this."

Lightning merely hissed in response, her pupils shrinking to slits. Fang figured she can be killed for it later, and slowly reached out with her hand, opting for a gentler approach. "Come on, sweetie. Your sister was a big meanie, wasn't she? I'll protect you from her and keep you and that beautiful tail safe." She cooed, moving slowly back as Lightning began to unravel herself and shimmy out from under the bed. When she had gotten within arm's reach, Fang gave her a gentle scritch along the ears and was rewarded with an immediate shift in mood.

Once out from under the bed, Lightning pressed her head into the hand patting her and then promptly climbed into Fang's lap. "Woah Light what are you... Uh... Shit." The Pulsian trailed off and just resigned herself to gently stroking Lightning's hair as the pinkette nuzzled against her neck. She was making a quiet purring sound as Serah walked in on them. "Uh... Serah this... This isn't what it looks like."

The younger Farron pulled her glasses slightly down the bridge of her nose so she could give Fang a sardonic glare over the top of the frames. "It's exactly what it looks like, and we seriously don't have time. The store closes at nine sharp and we have about twenty minutes to get down there."

Lightning saw her sister and immediately tensed, the purring sound she had been making shifting quickly into a growl. Fang reached down and gave her a quick scratch behind the feline ear and Lightning immediately melted against her, feeling safe and warm.

"Come on, Light. Up, up. We've gotta go get you back to normal before you start growing claws or something." As soon as Fang had helped Lightning to her feet, a little clarity seemed to return and the pinkette rubbed at her temples in pain.

"Gods. What is going on?" She asked groggily, wondering just how much alcohol was in that drink. Fang gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and nodded towards the door.

"I'll explain on the way. And no, you're not gonna like it."

* * *

Gadot leapt up onto a car and howled loudly at the moon, Snow scrambling onto the hood to join in. Serah grabbed her fiancé by the collar and yanked him backwards, dragging him off the car. "Control. Yourself. Please." Serah whispered, giving an apologetic glance to some passers-by who hurried on at the sight of the motley crew. Lightning watched her sister argue with her now brother-in-law and hung her head. Fang gave her a gentle nudge and placed a jacket over her shoulders.

"You uh, look a little colder than I am." Fang observed, not wanting to comment on the tail curling around her leg as they walked. They both knew it was happening but Lightning was powerless to stop it, the dark night hiding the blush on her face. But to Lightning, the entire night was bright, and alive, and moving. It was hard not to get distracted, either by the vibrant world around her or the huntress walking alongside her.

"Thanks," she replied quietly, shrugging it around her arms. Lightning glanced around and surveyed the others as they progressively became more affected by their costumes by the time they had gotten into the night air. Sazh was panicking about his hand, wiggling the bones that somehow still held movement despite the lack of tendons and sinew to do so. Hope was still nowhere to be found, but an occasional kicked can gave some indication he was following.

The NORA crew didn't look like they were faring much better, with Yuj and Maqui increasingly looking like they were ready to eat people, and Lebreau threatening them with a particularly sharp cutlass to keep them in line. Fang bailed them up at an intersection to remind them not to jaywalk.

"I have to say though, Fang... This is the most disciplined I've seen you. It's... Interesting." Lightning commented with a smirk. The huntress gave her a scowl and shushed her with a dismissive hand.

"Quiet you."

"Or what? You'll arrest me?"

Two sets of eyebrows raised at the words, Lightning's cheeks heating with embarrassment. Fang looked away, not wanting to draw attention to it but yet desperate to bring it up all the same. The pinkette coughed nervously and fiddled with the jacket around her shoulders. "I... I don't know where that came from. I'm sorry."

Fang gave her a shrug and patted her on the back gently. "Don't apologise, it's alright. Bit of a weird night all round I'd say." She answered, letting her hand trail up and give one of Lightning's cat ears a brush with her fingertips. "I suppose it is a part of that whole... Uh... Sexy kitten thing you've... Got going on...?"

"Thank you for reminding me." Lightning muttered as they entered the costume store, looking for the owner. The others looked around the store while Fang went straight to the counter and rung the bell. She was startled by the oddly familiar pink-haired girl that skipped over from out back. The shop keep's bright blue eyes seemed to pierce through Fang and she swallowed hard, feeling like she was potentially about to play with fire.

"Good evening ma'am," Fang began in her most crisp, professional voice, "We were hoping you could assist us with a quandary were all having this evening. Specifically the whole _we seem to be becoming our costumes_ kind of thing."

The owner giggled and tilted her head curiously. She rest her chin against her one gloved hand and smiled innocently. "Whatever do you mean?" the girl asked, batting her eye lashes.

"You know damn well what she's talking about!" Lightning snapped, slamming her hand down on the counter. The girl just smiled wider, though there was now a malicious tint to the expression. She reached out and booped Lightning on the nose.

"Calm down kitty. Nobody likes a sourpuss." The girl laughed, watching as Lightning's eyes fluttered closed. When they opened the pupils were slitted like a cat's eye and her gaze was lidded. Lightning began to bat gently at the braid on Fang's hair with a playful grin, giggling to herself all the while.

"Alright lady, what's your angle?" Sazh asked, wary of getting too close. "Who are you?"

Another high pitched, childish laugh came from the small woman as she stared the group down. "I go by a great deal many names, but for the purposes of this game, you may call me Lumina. And the game tonight, is to find the heart of truth and hear its cry."

"What kind of nonsense is this?" Fang exclaimed, grabbing Lightning's wrist to keep her still. It only succeeded in having the pinkette nuzzled into her, the tips of her furry ears tickling Fang's face. "Is this some sort of true love's kiss bullshit?"

"An excellent deduction, officer. You have until dawn to find it, or you'll be trapped like that in your costumes forever. The closer you get to dawn the harder it will be not to give into your new personas. The likes of you and Serah won't have too much trouble in your new professions, but others..." Lumina trailed off, disappearing into a flurry of black smoke. The silence that hung in the store was wracked with tension, as Fang bit her bottom lip and fretted about Lightning. The mischievous girl was right. Fang knew she could be a law abiding cop if she absolutely had to, but Lightning?

"Guys, we better head back to the house and figure this out." Vanille suggested, mildly guilty at the relief she felt for not having time to put on the costume she'd bought from here. They exited the store quietly, everyone feeling mildly nervous about this curse they'd all seemingly been put under.

There was a flash of movement in the dark and suddenly a small squirrel darted across the path in front of them, Snow and Gadot letting out a bark and immediately giving chase. Lightning spied similar movement and tore off in the opposite direction, disappearing into the forest that lined the village.

"Oh for the love of..." Lebreau groaned and Serah's eyes widened as her husband vanished into the woods with his friend. "We've gotta go catch them!"

"Go!" Fang called out over her shoulder, already pursuing Lightning into the woods. "I'll get Light, you go get your stupid bloody labrador. The rest of you get back to the house!" She didn't wait for a reply before she let the darkness of the trees surround her as she ran from the path in pursuit of her friend.

Fang made her way through the woods quickly and as quietly as she could manage, trying to figure out where Lightning had gotten to. "Come on you overgrown feline... Time to come home..." she muttered to herself as she ran. Coming upon a clearing, the moon shone a silvery light into the small open space as Fang jogged to a halt. She placed her hands on her hips and bent over to catch her breath, gritting her teeth as she panted. "Dammit, Light. Where are you?" Fang called out, getting more worried as the clock ticked. She didn't want to lose her friend to whatever this curse appeared to be, and they were running out of time. "Come on, where the bloody hell are y-"

The wind was knocked out of Fang as she was tackled to the ground. Instantly her fighting instincts flared to life and she rolled her attacker off her. She whirled around to come face to face with a grinning Lightning, tail swishing wildly. "Assaulting a police officer, hm? That's gonna cost you." Fang warned, holding her hands out defensively.

There was little warning before Lightning pounced again, and the two tussled in the dirt until Fang gained the upper hand, pinning the pinkette to the ground. She blinked a couple of times to calm her overwhelming need to arrest her friend. But then Fang caught sight of a playful smile and it was one she'd never seen before from the often stoic and grumpy Farron. It made her breath catch in her throat and she had to physically restrain herself from suddenly leaning down and kissing her.

Lightning blinked and her eyes came into focus to find Fang on top of her, pinning her to the ground while trying to catch her breath. Lightning's grip on her arms tightened. She felt light-headed and dizzy, like she was slowly being pulled backwards through her awareness until it felt like she was merely a spectator to herself. She glanced at the hands sliding down along Fang's biceps.

"Mmmmmm... It looks like you've caught me officer," Lightning purred, her playful grin turning salacious as Fang swallowed many times to try to fix her dry throat. "Are you going to read me my rights?"

"I... Uh..."

Lightning internally baulked as she felt herself moving her arms up behind her head and crossing her wrists, facing upwards. "Are you gonna cuff me, now? Interrogate me? Are you going to be the good cop? Oh... Please tell me you're going to be the bad cop..." _How the hell am I even saying this with a straight face_... Lightning fought with every fibre of herself to claw her way back into awareness and was met with the sight of Fang just opening and closing her mouth a bunch of times.

Fang shook herself back into the present and quickly climbed off Lightning, helping her from the ground. The feline ears were lowered against Lightning's head and she suddenly looked very withdrawn. "Hey, it's ok, darlin'. We'll fix this, alright?" Fang tried to assure her, taking Lightning by the hand and holding it close. When she went to pull away however, the pinkette simply tightened her grip and pulled Fang closer, once again letting her tail curl around the Pulsian's leg. Lightning gave her friend a sad, uneasy smile and pressed her head against Fang's shoulder.

"I hope so. This... this is actually pretty scary." Lightning admitted, closing her eyes as Fang put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Under normal circumstances anyone trying this level of affection was liable to get their arm broken, and Lightning tried to tell herself that these weren't normal circumstances.

"We'll figure it out, Light. We'll get through it together, ok? I won't let anything bad happen to you."

But Lightning knew in her heart that it had nothing to do with the cursed night they found themselves in. She knew it had everything to do with the woman who had her arm wrapped firmly around her like a protective shield, a shelter, a promise. One that Lightning now knew that she wanted to lose herself in, with Fang.

* * *

Back at Serah and Snow's home, Fang trudged through the door and flopped onto the couch. Everyone turned and stared as Lightning followed and then promptly sat in the Pulsian's lap, curling up and closing her eyes. There was a gentle purring sound that stopped whenever someone else came near to check on her, but then continued when she was alone with Fang.

"Where's Maqui?" Vanille asked. Lebreau gave a shrug and pointed towards the door.

"Had to stick him in the basement. Kept looking at me like I was a meal and it was wigging me out. Now, how about this whole Heart's Truth crap? What do you all think it means?"

Serah gave Snow a kiss and stood back to see if anything happened. After a few moments of Snow tilting his head, he gave a happy bark and began to lick her face, tackling her to the ground. "Augh... Guess that... Didn't work... Snow... Get off me already! Bad Snow!"

Vanille rolled her eyes and tutted her friend. "Well it wouldn't work for you, you've already found your true love. So... What do you think that finding the heart's truth means? Do we have to be super honest with each other?" Vanille asked, and Sazh tapped a bony hand against his chin.

"If that's the case, Vanille, I am scared of your cooking."

"What? How very dare you! I'll have you know that I'm an excellent cook!"

As the group bickered in the background, Fang gave a wary glance down to the purring friend in her lap. She reached down and gave a gentle stroke of the pale hair and smiled when the purring sound grew a little louder. Lightning glanced up at Fang with slitted eyes and blinked slowly.

"You back with us or am I still patting a cat?"

"Can't it be two things...?" Lightning grumbled, a little more aware of herself but not able to bring herself to move. She watched the argument in the room and gave a long sigh.

The others were still trying to brainstorm and Lebreau snapped her fingers. "I got it! We gotta kiss. Let's just kiss everyone until we figure it out."

"Lebreau, that's a terrible idea. Also my sister will kill anyone who tries that in this room." Serah chided, taking a quick glance back at Lightning to check on her. The growl that she heard confirmed her suspicions and she shook her head. "Definitely will kill anyone who tries that."

Gadot gave a shrug and scratched at his ears. "Lightning's an ice queen anyway so she doesn't count."

That hadn't been Fang's experience by far. There was nothing icy about the fiery anger that came from the lieutenant when they fought together to bring down the Fal'cie. Nothing frozen about the blazing passion when Lightning got onto a topic she loved to talk about. Fang realised that she was worried about losing Lightning, Far more than just losing her as a friend.

Lightning felt her friend's body tense beneath her and she turned to regard the Pulsian. "Hey, Fang?"

"Yeah darlin'?"

"If... dawn comes and we don't figure this out can... Can you... Look out for me? Just... To make sure I don't get into any trouble if I lose myself." The look on Fang's face threatened to break her, but she pressed on. "Will you... Stay with me? Until it's over?"

Fang drew a thumb across Lightning's jaw slowly, tracing the contours of her face. "I ain't going anywhere, Light. I'm here. And we're gonna fix this. Even if I gotta go bust down the gates of Valhalla and have a stern word with the gods using my fists."

The promise was hollow given the time rapidly running out, and Lightning blinked slowly, feeling herself slipping again. The next few hours were a blur. Sometimes coming back into awareness with Fang pulling her off Snow, who was now covered in scratches; other times being coaxed out from under the bed by Fang; other times coming around as she had pinned Fang to the ground after a successful bout of play fighting. Fang was always the constant. The anchor.

Fang gazed up at Lightning as she was pinned to the ground, her heart beating faster with emotion. "Sorry I... I guess this is going to be the norm for me now." Lightning uttered quietly, climbing off her friend. Fang sat up and pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair.

"We'll find a way to fix this. We've gotten out of worse before, right?"

"Even if we did I doubt it'll be in time." Lightning said, staring out the window at the night sky slowly shifting to a grey, just before the dawn. There was a lot she'd planned to do with her life, but a lot of that was going to be shelved in place of lounging around and chasing laser pointers now, Lightning supposed.

"I don't... Want to lose you..."

Lightning saw a tear slip down Fang's cheek and she reached out to catch it. Not wanting to move her hand away, the pinkette slowly leant forward, just to give Fang enough time to pull away. Lightning just wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss her, just once. Taking the opportunity, Fang closed the distance and captured her lips. The small gasp that came from Lightning made Fang hesitate and she pulled away, worried she'd misinterpreted her intentions.

There was no way to mistake Lightning's meaning when her hand snaked around Fang's neck and pulled her back in, crashing their lips together. The need was obvious, and Fang could have sworn she heard Lightning whisper the word "please" against her. Tugging on the straps on the feline outfit, Fang pulled her into her lap and ran her fingers through the pale hair as they continued to kiss.

There was a soft clatter onto the floor behind Lightning and she broke away to check the source. Her eyebrows raised when she saw the cat ear headband unceremoniously laying on the floor. She snapped her head back towards Fang and the Pulsian's eyes widened. "Did you just..." Lightning trailed off and tested a theory, giving the tail attached to her belt an experimental yank. It came off and Lightning looked up at Fang through the pale hair that fell over her eyes.

"Light... I... Uh... You're ok? Did someone figure out how to break the curse?"

Giving Fang a sultry smile, Lightning leant back in and began to kiss her way along the Pulsian's neck. "I think we did. Still want to arrest me?" She joked with a light chuckle. Slowly unbuttoning Fang's top, Lightning came upon a small notepad that officers would use to take notes on crime scenes. She glanced at a single note scribbled in rough handwriting.

Up against the wall – kiss her when this is over – see what happens.

Lightning raised an eyebrow at the scrawl and watched as Fang managed to blush to the point of it being visible on her tanned skin. "I... I could still stand to arrest you... How do I know you're not still all... You know..." Fang mumbled, her breath hitching as Lightning touched her jaw gently, guiding her gaze up to meet the pinkette's affectionate eyes.

"Still under the influence of the costume?"

"... Yeah."

Lightning leant back with a serious expression on her face. "Fang, it's me. Just because I often appear as an... Ice queen... Doesn't mean I'm not capable of feeling this way. Besides. I think you bring it out of me. It's taken a stupid, crazy night as a result of Vanille's poor choices in attire for me to realise that... Maybe I've been thinking about this for longer than I realised."

Fang beamed at the admission and tilted Lightning's jaw up to kiss her softly. "Well I'm happy to spend time reading your rights if you need me to. I've been thinking about things a while too."

Holding up the notepad and waving it in front of her, Lightning grinned and rest her head against Fang's. "Obviously, if you've been taking notes... Now, what's this about a wall?"

In one fluid motion, Fang stood while still holding onto the pinkette, Lightning's legs wrapping around her waist on instinct. The Pulsian walked her over to the wall and smiled into the kiss as they began to make up for lost time.

"What was that thud?" Vanille asked, looking around the room.

"Probably Lightning breaking something else if Snow's face is still intact.." Hope muttered, resting his chin on his hand while sitting on the couch. Everybody suddenly screamed at the sight of him, startled by his sudden appearance.

"Etro, Hope where the hell have you been?!" Vanille yelled, grabbing his shoulder angrily. Hope threw his hands in the air with a look of exasperation.

"I've been here the entire time! The. Entire. Time! But none of you could see me! Do you have ANY idea how boring it is to be a ghost?"

There was an awkward knocking from the basement as Maqui started calling out to be let out. Serah's eyes narrowed and she prodded her husband to test for any compulsive licking behaviour. When he slowly took the Labrador hood off his head and the dog nose off his face her eyes widened and she gave him a hug.

"Are we... Is the curse broken? But how?" Sazh asked, checking his human hand and wiggling his fingers tentatively. Serah shrugged and glanced around the room checking off everyone in her mind.

"I don't know... I don't think we did anything different and... Wait. Where is Claire? Where's Fang?"

There was a slow realisation that dawned around the room and Vanille looked utterly dumbfounded. "No. Way." There was another thud followed by a muffled giggle and the group stared in disbelief.

"Ha! Yes! Called it. Pay up, losers!" Lebreau exclaimed, collecting a twenty gil note from the other NORA gang members in the room. "You as well, red." She called out to Vanille, who sighed and handed her a twenty as well.

"Come on you lot," Sazh said, standing up with a lazy stretch. "Let's get out of here and get out of these costumes. I don't know about you but I'm never dressing up again."

The others followed the old pilot from the house, leaving Vanille, Serah and Snow standing in the living room looking exhausted. Another thud and a small crash echoed through the house and the younger Farron sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "In my house. My house. Couldn't you have had this revelation in your own damn apartment?" She yelled, the muffled movements stilling a moment before laughter came from down the hall.

Fang and Lightning exited the spare room, looking sheepish and mildly dishevelled. "Good idea, Serah, we'll catch you later." The Pulsian drawled while Lightning dragged her through the living room and out the door. Vanille watched them leave and placed a supportive hand on Serah's shoulder.

"Welcome to the family, I guess?"

Serah sighed and made a beeline for the kitchen, in desperate need of a drink.


End file.
